Late cancellation of appointments has cost NHS Forth Valley £660,00 this year so far.

Patients who fail to cancel their appointment until the day they are due to attend are also denying 600 people a month the opportunity to be treated more quickly.

So far this year, 5,500 patients have cancelled at the last minute which equates to a bill of £660,000.

The cost of people cancelling on the day of their appointment is in addition to the £4 million per annum cost for those who simply fail to turn up. Patients who fail to attend represent around 11 per cent of all outpatient appointments.

The figures have been described as ‘concerning’ by NHS Forth Valley’s medical director Andrew Murray.

He said: “Cancelling or moving an appointment on the day is pretty much the same as not turning up as it doesn’t allow us to fill the slot. I appreciate that sometimes there are genuine reasons for not keeping an appointment but, where possible, we would ask people to let us know beforehand. This would give us the chance to reschedule and allow someone else to attend.

“I realise that patients may think they are doing the right thing letting us know they can’t attend that day, but by then it is too late to contact others who are waiting for treatment. It’s also important to remember that a last minute cancellation could potentially delay any future treatment.”

NHS Forth Valley has put in place a number of procedures to make it easier for patients to cancel or rearrange their appointments. This includes an appointment telephone reminder system which is now in place for the majority of consultant-led outpatient clinics and a text reminder service is due to start shortly.

People can also ring the number on their appointment letter or cancel their appointment online by completing a short form on the contact section of NHS Forth Valley’s website (www.nhsforthvalley.com ).

In addition, a new procedure is being introduced for some specialities where patients who are waiting will be contacted to check that the appointment is still required.

Meanwhile, in the three months to September 30, NHS Forth Valley failed to meet a key waiting list target. Scottish Government minsters want 90 per cent of patients to have their first treatment within 18 weeks of referral but in NHS Forth Valley the figure was 82.3 per cent. That was better than the per formance of six other health boards and slightly up on the 81.2 per cent for Scotland.

A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said its performance for the target had consistently been above the national average for Scotland.

She said the £17 million of additional investment, which was recently announced by the Scottish Government, would be used to increase capacity within FVR hospital to help reduce waiting times.

“This includes plans to run extra operating lists in the hospital’s existing 14 theatres (including extended sessions over weekends) and open two additional operating theatres, enabling hundreds of extra operations to be performed,” she added.

“A second MRI scanner will be purchased to deliver around 8,000 additional scans each year and a new 32-bed ward will also be established for patients who need inpatient care following surgery.”